The CEO's Contempt: A Senate Committee Takes a Stand Against Steward Health Care

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee is planning to vote on two resolutions to hold Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre in contempt for refusing to attend a hearing despite being issued a subpoena. The committee is fed up with de la Torre's excuses and is determined to get to the bottom of the harm caused by Steward's bankruptcy. But what's really at stake here? Is it just about holding a CEO accountable, or is it about the broader issue of private equity investors' impact on the healthcare system? As Sen. Bernie Sanders, the committee chair, pointed out, Steward's bankruptcy is a prime example of what happens when private equity investors purchase hospitals, strip their assets, and saddle them with debt they can never pay back. But what about the patients and healthcare workers who are left to suffer the consequences? What about the preventable harm and even death that occurs when hospitals are understaffed and underfunded? One nurse, Ellen MacInnis, testified at the hearing about the shocking conditions she witnessed under Steward's management. Patients were subjected to preventable harm, and even death, particularly in understaffed emergency departments. She told the committee about a patient who died before staff could get to him, and about the time when emergency room staff didn't have basic supplies like diapers and bereavement boxes. So, what's the real motive behind de la Torre's refusal to testify? Is it really just about protecting his own interests, or is it about something more sinister? The committee is right to be suspicious, and it's high time someone held accountable for the harm caused by Steward's bankruptcy.